Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

8 reviews

tigertheory's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Just didn’t draw me in like Whitehead’s other books. As an EFL speaker, it was hard to keep up with all the dated slang at times and I have to be honest – sometimes I didn’t know what was going on at all. 
In terms  of style though, Whitehead portrays New York City and Harlem expertly and with so much wit that I was actually audibly laughing at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, and Suicide attempt

bel017's review against another edition

dark informative sad

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

 In 1960s Harlem, NYC, a black man tries to balance and separate his straight and criminal lives. 

Lots of CW for marginalised people living in desperate, violent, poverty stricken and oppressive situations.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Body horror, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Grief, and Alcohol

jessi_c's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

For me, this story was gripping enough to keep me entertained. However, it’s was mainly due to the cast of minor characters, which enriched the plot moreso than the mc. The prose shined when it dived deep into the heists/jobs, again largely unraveled by the side characters. Wished there was more to talk about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Gun violence

Moderate: Drug use and Racism

Minor: Homophobia and Police brutality

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was really engaging and interesting! It almost felt like it had a couple different stories inside it, but in a way that completely worked. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Blood

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide

for_esme_with_love's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My favorite kind of crime novel: one with no copaganda to be found! 

Set in 1960s Harlem, this noir thriller follows a furniture salesman wrestling with his commitment to remaining on the straight and narrow, all the while his path is increasingly filled with twists and disreputable turns. The narration is full of shrewd observations about a city that is crooked to its core, introducing us to a cast of deliciously unsavory characters. I loved the subtle humor -- witty repartee between characters and a protagonist who can't help but wax poetic on the value of a good sofa or dining room set, even in the most dire circumstances. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, and Death of parent

Minor: Cursing and Forced institutionalization

The racism and homophobic displayed by some characters are definitely supposed to be bad, not the views of the author

kjulie's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

In the end I found that I appreciated this. I wasn’t sure if I’d finish it, as the writing style really didn’t work for me (it felt distracted and disjointed), but Colson Whitehead got me to eventually care about the characters! It’s loosely a collection of heist stories, but more directly the story of Ray Carney discovering who he is and what he’s capable of.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Drug use and Homophobia

na_no's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Murder, Abandonment, and War

davidrb's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

STRONG, STRONG contender for my favorite book of the year, and certainly for my favorite published this year. Wonderfully paced, dryly funny, and with such a tight grasp on story and plot. I came out of it way more emotional than I banked for. The Count of Monte Cristo references...wow!

Savored every minute.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

There's a scene midway through the book that veers close to rape and will likely trigger people who are affected by sexual assault.